Time to reconsider prophylactic cranial irradiation in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer?
Mené au Japon sur 224 patients atteints d'un cancer du poumon à petites cellules de stade étendu, cet essai multicentrique de phase III évalue, du point de vue de la survie globale, l'intérêt d'une radiothérapie crânienne prophylactique par rapport à une surveillance médicale
Small-cell lung cancer accounts for 10–15% of lung tumours and two-thirds of patients have extensive-stage disease. Brain metastases are an important problem in patients with small-cell lung cancer. Studies in patients with a complete response after chemotherapy showed that prophylactic cranial irradiation reduces the risk of brain metastases and improves survival compared with control.1 These studies included mainly patients with limited-stage disease.
The Lancet Oncology , commentaire, 2016